Editor’s note: We’re launching a new Saturday feature that reviews the heroes and villains of today’s Premier League football matches.

The Premier League has returned, and there were plenty of key incidents to savor from a day where there were thankfully no nil-nil draws.

Here are our heroes and villains from Premier League Saturday, Gameweek 1 of the 2013/14 season:

Lucky:

Liverpool. Although the Reds won all three points with a 1-0 victory today against Stoke, Brendan Rodgers’s team was extremely lucky not to draw the match. Robert Huth had a first-half volley that hit the crossbar. Jonathan Walters should have put his penalty kick away after a comedy error by Daniel Agger gifted Stoke a chance. Liverpool had their own shots too that hit the woodwork.

The Reds walk away from Anfield with three points in the bag that conveniently paper over the cracks of a see-saw performance.

Unlucky:

Arsenal’s Laurent Koscielny. The defender was unlucky to be on the receiving end of a poor decision by the referee in this match, which resulted in Aston Villa being awarded a penalty.

To be fair to referee Anthony Taylor, the camera angle that was closest to his view of the incident made it look like the penalty decision was the correct one. But when viewed from different camera angles, Koscielny got to the ball first before colliding with his opponent.

The penalty decision against Koscielny was harsh, and based on the TV replays, the yellow card was unjustified. He later received a second yellow card, and was sent off, which swung the game in Villa’s favor as they battled ten men.

Hero of the day:

Wayne Rooney. The troubled English footballer didn’t look too enthused when he was brought on for Ryan Giggs in the second half. But Rooney received a half-hearted applause, had some key passes and had a great assist on the pass that led to Danny Welbeck’s goal (see below). Even Swansea City attacking midfielder/striker Michu gave Rooney a high-five after the sublime pass.

Save of the day:

Brad Guzan. Aston Villa’s goalkeeper was in exceptional form today, and showed why he was the deserving winner of the Player of the Year award last year from his club. His fingertip save from Tomas Rosicky that he parried on to the crossbar was one of those “how did he do that?” saves.

Goal of the day:

Danny Welbeck. The final goal of the day by Manchester United striker Danny Welbeck against Swansea featured an incredible chip over goalkeeper Michel Vorm after a pass from Wayne Rooney. You couldn’t have finished that goal any better.

About The Author

Publisher of World Soccer Talk, Christopher Harris founded the site in 2005. He has been interviewed by The New York Times, The Guardian and several other publications. Plus he has made appearances on NPR, BBC World, CBC, BBC Five Live, talkSPORT and beIN SPORT.
Harris, who was born and raised in Wales, has lived in Florida since 1984, and supported Swansea City since 1979. Last but not least, he got engaged during half-time of a MLS game.

14 Comments

drseideAugust 17, 2013

I agree with all your choices. I also thought Simon Mignolet could have have been a candidate for save of the day as well. He had a brilliant debut for liverpool

I have to disagree that Liverpool were lucky. They were by far the better team with more chances and while they hit the woodwork twice they also produced some world-class saves from Begovic. If anything Stoke were lucky to be still in the game and got a penalty because of the stupidity of Agger.

Yeah… Liverpool owned much of the game against Stoke City. Liverpool were lucky in the sense that they failed to put the game away, a problem they’ve had in the past couple of years. That said, Begovic was the very reason why Stoke City were in it all the way to the end.

Mignolet indeed made a pair of saves on a PK / rebound shot to kept Liverpool on top, which meant a heck of a lot more than any contribution Rooney gave in the Man United game after the fact that the match was already settled.

Did you even bother watching football today or did you just make half hearted guesses on what you thought happened.
Very poor article but you seem to be having more and more of these. Would be nice to get back to when you talked some sense.

Mingolet looked very nervous in the first half, yes he saved the penalty at the dying stages, but you have got to believe that the ball bumped with Walters took the spotkick (Replayes cleared showed that). Liverpool were lucky, perhaps from one viewpoint, but in hindsight they could have won by a larger margin if it wan’t for Begovic!